The following is a response to the commentary: Closing Colorado Public Colleges is Now a Distinct Possibility.
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Dear Mr. Hawk:

It was with dismay that I read your commentary entitled, "Closing Colorado Public Colleges is Now a Distinct Possibility." While I realize it was an opinion piece and each of us in allowed an opinion, there is still, I believe, an ethical obligation not to distort the facts.

Your comments about Mesa State President Tim Foster and the Mesa State Board of Trustees were just plain wrong. President Foster was not "awarded" the presidency by former Gov. Owens. The governor neither awards nor appoints college presidents. The governor did appoint Foster as the executive director of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, an appointment Foster gave up to become Mesa State's president.

I'm not sure what so-called "shenanigans" you think the trustees were up to. While it is true they inappropriately met in executive session to discuss the process they would follow in searching for a new president for the college, that meeting was taped and the tape played for media, including The Daily Sentinel in Grand Junction.

The Sentinel in its Aug. 22, 2004 editorial wrote, "The stuff of ultra-sensitive, highly classified NORAD secrets the Mesa State tape was not. What the public can hear on the tape are the internal decision-making dynamics of public-spirited people who, whether one agrees with the search process established in the closed door meeting or not, are acting on behalf of what they consider is the college's best interest."

Of course, that was more than five years ago. By the way, during those five years under President Foster's leadership, Mesa State has grown from about 5,700 students to more than 7,000 this fall; the physical plant has almost doubled and numerous academic programs have been added, particularly in the areas of health sciences, business, criminal justice, engineering and teacher education.

I would say Foster seems to be doing a VERY good job at Mesa State.

Sincerely,

Dana Nunn
Director of Media Relations
Mesa State College